Sometimes giving back means coming back

It's not uncommon for people to leave the area and later return to build their lives and careers here. Nick Matt did just that, and returned after 25 years.

It's not uncommon for people to leave the area and later return to build their lives and careers here. Nick Matt did just that, and returned after 25 years.

Today, he's president of F.X. Matt Brewing Company in Utica, which employs about 140 people, and also is deeply involved in the local community. The O-D spoke with him recently about his decision to return to the area.

Observer-Dispatch: Why did you choose to stay in the area, rather than leaving to seek your fortunes elsewhere?

Nick Matt: Actually I did leave and then I came back again. I left when I was young and went to business school and I was hired by a firm in New York City. I came back here 25 years later to get involved with the brewery.

O-D: Why did you come back?

Matt: We had a business that had been going at the time for a little over 100 years and it was having some difficulty and I wanted to see if I could find a way to make it work better. By that time I was not in New York City, I was in Connecticut, working for a division of Procter&Gamble, and I wanted to do something different, and the brewery looked like it was something different.

O-D: How did your wife and kids feel about moving here?

Matt: My wife was born here. I think everyone was OK with it. This is different from the suburbs of New York and it's a great place to raise a family.

O-D: How does this professional environment compare to the one you were part of downstate?

Matt: When you are in a community like this, one of the big differences is you really do get involved in the community. When I was living around New York City, most of the people are just commuters. You aren't very involved in your community. When you come to a community this size, you get very involved. I've been on the United Way board, the chamber board, I headed Mohawk Valley EDGE as chairman for five years.

O-D: Is it possible that the brewery would ever pick up and leave like so many other businesses have done?

Matt: Theoretically, it's possible but obviously we have a fairly large facility here we'd have to recreate. We've been here for 119 years and the likelihood of us picking up and moving is probably small. There is a momentum to stay here. It would have to be dire circumstances for us to leave. If the company is going to be in existence, it's going to be in this area.

O-D: Are any of your children interested in working for the brewery some day?

Matt: I work with Fred Matt, who is my nephew, who isn't that much younger than me. I think he's going to be the next person. I think it's possible that one of my children might come back and be involved. They went away like so many other young people. They recognize what Upstate New York is like. It may not be so great at age 22, but at age 30, it gets a lot more appealing.

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